Fear or Compassion?

Watching the steady stream of media images and reports from countries around the world, it is hard not to have a heavy heart. We are being faced with a level of barbarism that we thought we had put behind us, and we are being sorely tested as a society. How we respond – individually and collectively – will be the measure of our maturity as a species.

It is natural and understandable for us to be afraid of unknown killers who may even be already embedded in our communities. However, to let them sow such terror in our minds that we abandon our humanity hands them a victory far greater than what their heinous acts could achieve on the ground. It is vital that we open our hearts to compassion rather than fear. Being awake and aware of the world around us and helping those in the greatest need will do far more to keep us safe than closing our borders.

We are groping in the dark for solutions to this new reality and we run the grave danger of exchanging the freedoms we hold so dearly for a hollow sense of security represented by a police state. We may be well entering an era where searches, armed guards and metal detectors become the new normal. Recent history offers us some very stark reminders of what it was and could be like.

It was Thomas Jefferson who warned that all tyranny needs to gain a foothold “is for people of good conscience to remain silent." Instilling fear may offer short-term political gain to some politicians, but is that who we want to be as a nation? We are living in a global culture and need to find our way to rally together for the greatest good.

If you are reading this, I’m sure you already know the power of thought and intention. It is even more vital in these times to monitor our thoughts and act from love and compassion. It may sound trite, but every act of kindness illuminates the darkness and acts as a counterweight to the violence and destruction of these forces of darkness threatening to overwhelm us. If you anchor yourself in compassion, and meditate on love and breathe it in daily, you will fortify your spirit against these dark times and will become a beacon of light for those around you.